A few months had passed since that night. Katie and Brent had grown closer and Dan had never felt further away from her thoughts. Brent had a way of making Katie think. He challenged her creativity and her wit. He’d managed to make her laugh at everyday life. Katie had grown more and more comfortable with Brent as each day came to pass. She’d begun to dread going home to Dan. The money and financial stability was great, but she could only receive so many clothes and earrings before they lost the value that they were meant to have. Dan didn’t mind paying for the concerts and fancy foods, but the conversations and discussions began to seem tedious. Dan’s sense of humor was different from hers.

  It was evening in the small town of Ivins. The sun sat barely towering over the vast expansive fertile hills of this growing town. In a small mid sized red sedan, sat the two friends. Positioned in a parking lot surrounded by fields of wheat and Barley. The two laughed as different people walked by. Passing the car in which they sat on their way into the grocery store. The pair sat with small bowls of ice cream that they had purchased from the store itself. The ginger haired Katie dug her green plastic spoon into her Pistachio flavored ice cream, swallowing her laughter before pushing a scoop of ice cream between her ruby red lips. “Okay. . okay. That guy right there in the rainbow colored robes. What’s his story?” She asked, gesturing toward a pale skinned man in what looked like the robes of a shaman walking into the store.

  “Ohhhh that’s an easy one.” Brent replied, fiddling with a layer of strawberry ice cream in his bowl. “That guy thinks he’s a. . Medicine man. He’s going in there to purchase purified water to bless, so he can feed it to cart pushers in the parking lot. . tomorrow afternoon.” Brent continued snapping his fingers.

  “Not bad, not bad.” Katie said with a chuckle. “I think he’s coming off a divorcee, okay? His wife took all his clothes and burned them So he hurried and grabbed the carpet before leaving the house for good. He’s going in there to purchase floor cleaner. . because the carpet he’s wearing is starting to smell bad.” Katie chuckled a bit, stuffing another bite into her mouth.

  “That was pretty funny.” Brent said, with a loud chuckle. A woman walked in front of the car and bent down to pick something up. Her hair was a hazel color with one side shaved off of her scalp and the rest of her hair dyed purple at the tips. “Now what’s her story?” Brent said, stuffing his mouth with another bite of ice cream.

  Katie paused for a second and pondered it. “Okay I got it. She just broke up with her girlfriend. She was going to turn her hair purple in light of the break up, but. . she couldn’t stand the smell of the hair dye and just gave up on it.”

  “I can see it.” Brent replied, laughing and raising a brow. “I think her girlfriend tried to shave off her hair while they were fighting. She started dying her break up hair then realized half her head was cold and came here to get hair regrowth shampoo and conditioner to make up for the fact that her head now looks like a two faced coin.”

  Katie burst out laughing. Her half eaten ice cream bowl tipping over at an angle that came rest on the middle console of Brent’s car. The subtle sound of a car engine in the background, caused her to look up at the rearview mirror. The smile ran away from her face as she studied the car that had just pulled in behind them. “Oh shit! That’s him.” She said as her expression turned to worry. “We have to get out of here, now!”

  “Why?” Brent asked, shoving his hands into his pockets to find his keys. “What’s going on? Whose him?”

  “Officer Kerns!” She exclaimed as tiny beads of sweat began to form at the top of her hair line. “He’s Dan’s Right hand man.” she continued, watching eagerly, waiting for Brent to turn on the car. She pondered the situation in her head. “Look! So Dan has been getting a little paranoid at home. We’ve been fighting a lot more and he’s been showing a lot of jealousy. He tried to pass off a joke to me the other night about telling his Squad to keep an eye on me. He’s been making these accusations that I’ve been cheating on him.” She continued, watching as the officer took his radio from his mouth.

  “Seriously?!” Brent asked, stunned at the news Katie was telling him. Before he asked anything else, he heard tapping on the driver’s side window of his car. He rolled the window down and looked over at the short flat top haired police officer that stood outside his door. ”Is there a problem officer?” He asked nervously.

  “No Problem.” Officer Kerns replied, scanning the inside of Brent’s car. His focus fixed on the redhead in the passenger’s seat of the car. “Katie? Captain Dan said, you’re usually supposed to be home at this time. He said he’s looking forward to dinner tonight. This doesn’t look like your house though. Who might this be?” the cop asked, pointing at Brent. “Is this one of your friends?” Katie remained quiet, refusing to answer the officer. Brent’s gaze shifted to the Ginger haired beauty. “Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to step out of the car.” Kerns said, pulling the latch of the car door.

  “What am I being charged with?” Brent asked, slowly getting to his feet outside the car. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “Silence, Sir!” Officer Kerns replied, patting the short haired blond down. Katie quietly slipped out of the car, her mind was racing. Trying to hatch an idea to get out of this situation. “Katie, Please do not get out of the car!” The officer shouted, as Katie shut the passenger side door. Katie shuffled around in her purse watching the scene unfold carefully. “Sir You are under arrest for kidnapping a young lady.”

  “I’m not kidnapping anyone!” Brent shouted, the Officer starting to fasten the cuffs around his wrist. “She came voluntarily. We were just eating Ice Cream!”

  “That’s not what I’m seeing.” Kerns retorted, turning Brent around and scrambling for his other hand. Katie grabbed the officer’s hand and held up a bottle of mace. She quickly sprayed Kerns in the eyes and grabbed the slender blonde's hand. “Assault!” the Officer shouted, rubbing his eyes desperately trying to get rid of the stinging Spray.

  If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

  “Come on!” She said, tugging on Brent’s hand and running off into the fields of wheat and Barley. The pair sprinted through the fields with the sounds of several Sirens roaring at their backs. The sun was starting to set, sucking the light from the evening sky. They’re legs grew sore the more they ran. Dusk was coming and they needed a break.

  Brent panted and heaved, his eyes setting on a small barn in the middle of the field. Brent tugged on Katie’s hand, directing her attention to the barn. Brent stumbled over into a small puddle of water and mud that sat in the middle of the bar. Katie offered a hand to help him out. The pair ducked behind a very large stack of hay that towered over the cow pen. They panted and heaved. Katie let out a quiet giggle, taking a napkin from the pocket of her purse and pressing it to Brent’s forehead. He chuckled a bit as she wiped the mud from his face. The evening sun was setting in. They could see it through the cracks between the wood. “Do you rescue all your friends from police officers?” He said, with a chuckle slowly catching his breath.

  “Nope.” She said with a giggle. ”Only the cool ones.” She said laughing quietly at her own joke.

  Something caught Brent’s eye. His gaze became fixed on Katie. The light shown through the wood cracks surrounded her. “I . . ummm. . .” He struggled for words. “I can’t hear the footsteps anymore. .” He said, finally managing to squeeze something out.

  “Good.” Katie replied, she couldn’t keep eye contact. Her cheeks were growing flustered. She grabbed the blonde’s hand and tugged on it once more, this time leading him out of the barn. She tugged his arm pulling him over to the front side of the barn. The Evening Sun’s rays engulfed the ginger haired beauty. Katie continued pulling on his arm, her eyes squinting and locking onto his. She took step after step. Brent’s was mesmerized by the beauty of the red head. “What’s wrong?” she asked, her cheeks were growing crimson red almost matching the hue of her ruby red lips.

  “N-nothing. .” Brent stumbled over taking Katie down to the ground with him. He stifled a laugh and crawled over on top of her offering her a hand. “I just ummm. . I’ve never seen anyone like you before.” His heart rate skyrocketed. His gaze was locked on her with nothing to distract him. There was nothing to distract her either. As if some force was pulling the two together, They leaned in, pressing their lips together. The palm of his hand pressed firmly into the ground, one hand found its way to her cheeks. His thumb, lightly caressing her cheek. Katie was the slightest bit surprised by the kiss, but the sensation that shot through her body the moment they kissed was numbing. Her mind told her to stop, but for the first time, the rest of her didn’t react.

  Off in the distance, most of Dan’s Squad had given up the search. Their commanding officer seemed like a completely different person. His heart was battered by anger and betrayal. His girlfriend that he had taken in and nursed back to health had been found in the company of a total stranger. ”Katie!” He screamed out into the vast expansive field. “Katie Come home! I don’t know who he is but we can work this out!” He shouted, pushing through the crops. Having to rely only on the light cascaded over the field. Finally after searching for an hour he spotted a large white wooden house in the middle of the field. The lights in the house were off and he could see no signs of any vehicles that would tell if anyone was home.

  Brent finally broke the kiss, pulling away from Katie’s lips slowly. A chill shot down his spine as he opened his eyes slowly. His eyes met hers, but he struggled for the words to say. He had just kissed this beautiful redhead, knowing full well that she was spoken for. “I don’t know what came over me. . I’m so sorry.” His nerves kicked in at full force and his mind set into panic mode. “You’re with your boyfriend. . who. . is probably still out there looking for us. I’m here just getting lost in the. . “

  “Magic of the moment. . “ Katie interrupted, her eyes opening slowly and widening. She was bewildered by the whole thing. Her eyes were locked in his. His gaze only left to survey the moonlight that poked out from behind his soft blond hair. “It was really magical. . “ she replied shyly. She shot Brent a nervous grin, finding it difficult to catch her breath. The words she was thinking spilled out on their own and the words she knew she should have said stayed in her head. “I didn’t want it to stop.” she said under her breath, leaning up and pulling him gently back into the kiss.

  “Really Katie?!” A voice shouted from behind them. “I took you in. I bought you all kinds of Jewelry and diamonds! We could have worked this out!” Dan shouted at the top of his lungs. His knees gave in and pushed him down to a kneel. Tears began to stream down his face. His arms dropped to his side. “Why couldn’t you just tell me . . ?” He trailed off. Katie and Brent had.

  “Dan?!” Katie shouted, going from content to concerned in just a matter of seconds. ”I didn’t mean to! It's just. . “ She was cut off.

  “You didn’t mean to what?!” He shouted in a fit of rage. “To go behind my back with this Guy?! You didn’t mean to throw away our relationship?!” He shouted, pounding his palm against the ground. He removed his gun from the holster and slammed it on the ground. He glanced down at his gun. His thoughts were drifting somewhere dark. “I gave you everything! I took you in! I made it so you wouldn’t have to work another day in your life and this. . This is how you repay me. I gave you my Life!” He shouted, slamming the gun down once more. He Stared at the gun for a moment, grazing it with his fingers. His Squad was gone for the night, having abandoned their captain. “You know what?! A life for a Life!” Dan shouted, picking up his gun and impulsively pulling the trigger.

  “Katie!” Brent shouted, pulling the ginger haired woman into a protective hug and flipping them around. The bullet pierced his back, sending a sharp pain into his side and causing him to double over. He screamed in pain as Katie adjusted her position to support his head.

  Katie Scrambled around searching for something to cover the wound. “Are you happy now?!” she shouted at Dan, patting Brent’s body desperately in search of something to help. ”I’ll send Dani to get my stuff! Get Out of here! You’ve done enough!”

  “No no no NO!! I didn’t mean to. .” Dan Cried out falling backward and turning to crawl away. “Please Don’t. . .”

  “We’re Done Now, Dan!” She shouted in a panic nervously patting Brent’s pant legs. That’s when she hit something. She plunged her hands into Brent’s pocket and pulled out the bottle.

  “I Can’t! No! Please?!” Dan got to his feet and grabbed his gun. ”It can’t end like this. . Noo. . “ Dan cried out in tears.

  “Too late!” she cried as the idea struck her. “Come on, stay with me.” She whispered to Brent. She shoved the bottle into Brent’s palms and curled his fingers over it. She shook both of their hands at the same time, right as another shot echoed from Dan’s Gun. Time froze around them and Katie looked up just in time to see a bullet from Dan’s gun frozen in place. The bullet was barely above her nose. Katie knew she couldn’t get Brent off this field in time.